Sentosa Spooktacular 2014

Correspondent from Singapore: 2013’s Sentosa Spooktacular was a raving success, seeing a record-high of 15,000 visitors. Thus, Sentosa Spooktacular decided to partner with Thailand’s leading movie studios, GMM Tai Hub Co. Ltd. (GTH) and produce the annual Halloween event for the next three years! So peeps, there are two weekends left to enjoy Sentosa Spooktacular.

My guest blogger Tiffany Yong had a Spooktacular experience recently

This year, the whole of Fort Silos is transformed into the thematic village of Laddaland (GTH’s 2011 award-winning horror hit movie) while seeing three haunted houses based on the movies: Countdown, Alone and The Swimmers. So it’s three movies within one movie (if you get the picture!)

The Sentosa Spooktacular Map

Welcome to Laddaland

Based on GTH’s well-received movie Laddaland; story has it that a family of four abandoned their old lives and moved into Laddaland, ready to settle down in a beautiful home they could call their own and live their dreams. All is well until they found out about the ruthless murder of a Burmese maid in their neighbour’s house. Savagely beaten, her mangled body is found stuffed inside the refrigerator. A wrongful death always results in a vengeful soul. Even the innocent ones are not spared from strange sightings and mournful cries.

Fort Siloso is now transformed into the village of Laddaland. Upon entering Laddaland, you will see rows of old houses until you reach the home of Thee , his wife Parn, his rebellious teenage daughter Nan and lively young son Nat. What seems to be a dream house in the day will turn into your darkest nightmare when night falls. As the dark village (or ex-Fort Siloso) comes to life in the wake of the night, you will start seeing the poor haunted souls who only want to have some fun (and take loads of pictures)

You can never be sure what you will find in your path…or off the path; as ghosts and ghouls play hard and work hard in bringing to you Asia’s Scariest Fun.

Countdown

Backstory: “4…3…2…1…Happy New Year!” Enter the mad house where insanity and danger come washing over you in waves. Join 3 friends – Jack, Bee and Pam, as they planned to celebrate the start of a new year in style. Lose yourself in their excitement as they wait eagerly for an acquaintance to join them for some fun. The climax draws near when their acquaintance shows up and proves to be the life of the party. However, there is just something about him that you cannot seem to put a finger on. A game master always has a game plan. Can you play the game by his rules, or will that be too much for you to handle? Encounter freak-shows and battle hallucination while you struggle to find your way out of this crazy house. With the mad man hot on your heels, can you make it out alive in this game of countdown?

Horro-o-meter: 3/5

Countdown was not exactly a horror (ghost) film, but more of a sadistic thriller which is still very scary (in my opinion). I realized that the whole experience would be scarier if you’ve actually caught the film and anticipate what might happen in each section of the trail. Countdown was the only movie of the 4 films that I’ve watched before here to see the review which made the whole experience so much more memorable as I felt as if I was going through the “ordeal” like Jack, Bee and Pam.

Alone

Backstory: You may think it is cute to have Siamese twins as next door neighbours. Conjoined at the stomach from birth, Pim and Ploy are Siamese twin sisters bounded skin-too-skin, organ-to-organ, for life. They even shared the same affection for a boy named Wee. Always the jealous one, Ploy flew into a blind rage when Wee had eyes only for Pim. Years later, Wee is seen happily married to Pim, and both are leading a decent life in South Korea…without Ploy.

Pim had survived the operation, which separated her from Ploy – the same operation which left her sister dead. Given her vicious personality, Ploy is not one to leave peacefully. Back to haunt her sister with a vengeance, she is about to make sure that her sister regrets ever being separated from her.

Help Pim to survive from the curse of a bond that runs beyond skin-deep. She has detached herself physically from Ploy, now she needs to know how to detach herself otherwise. Do not look over your shoulder, for you are never quite alone too.


Horro-o-meter: 4/5

 
Look out for the twin-ghosts accompanying you while queuing to enter. People with night blindness might have difficulty crawling through the dark tunnels and eerie rooms with mechanisms that will shock you if you are not careful

The Swimmers

Backstory: Perth is the school’s star swimming athlete. After a fatal accident that killed his long-time crush, Perth is devastated. He turns to the familiarity of the pool, seeking peace and solidarity in being underwater. However, the swimming pool is no longer safe; it is now haunted with ghosts of dead swimmers.

Perth begins feeling a presence next to him as he swims up and down the pool. He pauses, mid-stroke. He sees nothing, yet he feels something constantly next to him. What happens if that happens to you? You can’t see nor hear anything out of the ordinary, but you can feel them for sure. They are the cursed souls of drowned swimmers, and they are on the hunt for new victims to join them in the waters. What would you do then? Remember, you cannot scream underwater…

Horro-o-meter: (4.5/5)

Perhaps the scariest out of the 3, people with claustrophobia might be freaked out when you enter and climb through what seems like the insides of a human? The realistic human (or monster insides) and gory parts actually made my heart freeze for a moment(s), in fear of what might appear at the very end.

Review

This is a good place to walk around and enjoy yourself with the ghost without rushing. You would most likely have ample time if you arrive on time (Took me 3.5 hours without Fast Pass). I really like how each haunted house is a walkthrough into the movie with similar scenes and horribly gross reenactment. But too bad, to avoid over crowding, each ticket only allow entry to each haunted house once.

The “ghosts” are wandering around and hanging around the place where most people would be, meaning the queues and this mean your wait is not at all boring. Take loads of photos and do not try neglecting the wandering souls or you might find them eyeing on you.

If you are wondering if the reduction in the number of haunted houses will mean that it is not as value-for-money compared to the previous year (that’s what I thought initially), you are actually quite wrong. The time spent in each house is actually extended by three to four times as compared to the 2013.

Each walkthrough last about 20-30minutes, and when I go through them with my female photographer friend (who’s extremely scared of such haunted stuff), besides the screams, the words I kept hearing from her was “Why so long? Is it the end?”

P.S. The toilets are located near the entrance (by the haunted playground). Be careful of who’s knocking outside when you are doing your business!

Sentosa Spooktacular Dates:

October: 24, 25 | 31

November: 1

Time 7pm – 1am

Ticket Prices

General Admission Ticket: $66.60/ticket

Fast Pass: Additional $32 (Skip queues for all haunted houses) | $15 (For 1 house)

For more information about the promotion prices, check out the Sentosa Spooktacular Website

xoxo